Love Cultivating Schoolyards

“Working in my garden reminds me how beautiful and heartwarming nature can be. It’s like a stress-free zone where I can focus on my breathing and relaxation and get things off my mind. And I really like using crops from my garden to cook for my family. It sparks conversations and brings us together.”

— Diego, 11th grade LCS Intern

This past year, our Love Cultivating Schoolyards (LCS) paid internship program engaged ten East Oakland High School students in virtual leadership and professional development trainings, as well as conversations and community impact projects related to food justice and food security issues. LCS also offered consistent COVIDsafe outdoor education opportunities at the Castlemont Farm and Gardens in East Oakland. These onsite planting, garden maintenance, harvesting, and food prep opportunities were a major highlight of the program, especially for students struggling with online learning and being indoors all day. The produce students grew continued to be the core of Oakland Leaf’s food distribution initiative, providing fresh, organic vegetables and herbs to families in Oakland’s most foodinsecure neighborhoods.

“I have been an intern with LCS for the past four years. The internship has always meant a lot to me but this past year it was especially important because it was one of the only opportunities I had to be outside in nature and it helped me take my mind off of online school. I graduated this year but I will be coming back to help train and support new LCS interns”.

— Jovanna, 12th grade LCS intern

Oakland Leaf also provided interns with the materials to create and expand their home gardens and supported them to cultivate vegetables and medicinal plants to feed and support the wellness of their families. To share their growing expertise, interns created youtube instructional videos about their gardening experiences and lessons learned.

Earlier this year, LCS interns began working with the Castlemont High School Social Enterprise Coordinator to research, design, and launch a CSA program in East Oakland. The model they created ensures that all Castlemont High School families have access to free produce, while other community members pay on a sliding scale to subsidize the free boxes.

Also this year, LCS began a new learning and action unit on food preparation and cooking. The team planted a range of culturally relevant crops, including black eyed peas, pinto beans, and hot peppers, and then facilitated a series of live online cooking demos. Interns interviewed their families to gather family and ancestral recipes and conducted research to learn about the health benefits of different foods.